Important MediaLab Updates: A New Look, More Secure Passwords

MediaLab has made upgrades to our online learning management system. On October 20th, we released a new look for our student and administrator pages. At the same time, we updated our treatment of user passwords to make them more secure.

New Look

We're updating the look of our learning management system, both for administrators and other users. This new look is simpler, cleaner, and more compact. Less space is given to navigation elements and the page header is more compact, which means less scrolling to get to important information.



If you are an administrator, you can switch back and forth between your administrator and student roles by clicking on "My Courses" or "LMS & Course Administration" in the upper-right corner of the page. Navigation tabs have moved to the upper-right corner of the page as well. The "Jump to a User Report" box is available on every page of the administrator interface, which will help you to access this common page more quickly.



The display of checklists has changed. We've removed the blue coloration on checklist rows and reducing some spacing as well. Checklists will now print on fewer sheets of paper and use less ink.



The way that courses themselves display onscreen will not be changing at this time.

More Secure Passwords

MediaLab is upgrading its system to follow industry-standard policies regarding password handling. Previously, MediaLab has allowed administrators and technical support staff to look up a lost password, and lost passwords have been e-mailed to users who request them. After October 20th, administrators and technical support will not be able to recover passwords directly, but must reset them. We've worked hard to balance security with convenience – we don't want it to be difficult for you to communicate login information to your users, but we also need to protect the accounts of our users.

Users who lose their password and contact their administrators or technical support will be given a new, temporary password – after logging in, they will be required to change it. Alternatively, users will be e-mailed a "reset your password" link that will enable them to choose a new password.

Newly added users will be given a temporary password. This temporary password (usually the same as the username) must be changed when the user logs in for the first time. You will still be able to e-mail your new users with temporary login information.

Security Requirements for New Passwords

MediaLab is implementing additional security requirements for new passwords. They must be at least six characters long, include at least one number or special character, and cannot be the same as the user's username. Usernames and passwords are not case-sensitive - uppercase and lowercase letters are treated the same.

These changes will not affect existing passwords. All users may continue logging in with their existing usernames and passwords. If a user loses his or her password or elects to change it, the new security required will be enforced.

How to Reset a Lost Password / Provide a User with a Temporary Password

1. Log in to your administrator account.
2. Start typing the name of the user in the Search box in the upper left of the page and click on the user’s name when it appears.
3. Look for the line that says "Password [not displayed]" and click on "Lost password? Reset this user's password »"
4. Click on the "Reset Password" button.
5. Note the user’s temporary password and give it to him or her. You can also e-mail the temporary password using the button provided.
6. You can look up a temporary password at any time; once a user logs in using the temporary password, he or she must change it.

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At MediaLab, we’re always striving to improve our courses and software. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please let us know. You can contact us at support@medialabinc.net or call us at (877) 776-8460.

Published on 10/5/2010 2:53:16 PM.
Permalink: http://www.medialabinc.net/newspost32-important_medialab_updates_a_new_look_more_secure_.aspx

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